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Biomedical subjects

C Mackintosh

Publications and source records attributed to C Mackintosh.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Protein phosphatase 2A and its [3H]cantharidin/[3H]endothall thioanhydride binding site. Inhibitor specificity of cantharidin and ATP analogues.

The target site for cantharidin (CA) and its analogues was isolated recently from mouse liver and identified as protein phosphatase (PP2A) in the heterodimeric form known as PP2A2. The most toxic CA analogue, endothall thioanhydride (ETA) (mouse i.p. LD50 0.3 mg/kg), appears to have the same binding site in mouse liver and brain based on studies comparing [3H]ETA and [3H]CA. ATP and its nonhydrolyzable analogues and pyrophosphate and related compounds including phosphonoformic acid inhibited both [3H]CA and [3H]ETA binding with IC50 values ranging from 2 to 81 microM. As with CA itself, the most potent inhibitors have two negatively charged groups in close proximity to each other. Inhibition of [3H]CA binding by 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) and stimulation by N-ethylmaleimide indicated the involvement of a thiol site in the CA-binding domain. CA and three analogues (cantharidic acid, palasonin and endothall) inhibited PP2A and protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) but not PP2B or PP2C. The catalytic subunit of PP2A was 5- to 12-fold more sensitive to these CA analogues than the catalytic subunit of PP1. CA and the herbicide endothall also inhibited spinach leaf PP1 and PP2A and, at 50 microM, decreased the PP2A-mediated light-induced activation of nitrate reductase in intact spinach leaves by 62 and 56%, respectively. This is consistent with PP2A as their site of action in plants, and indicates the potential use of CA analogues as pharmacological probes to investigate cellular processes that are regulated by reversible protein phosphorylation in vivo.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1987

Antibiotic resistance monitoring, with particular reference to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Two surveys of antibiotic resistance in hospital pathogens are described. The first is a long-term, multi-center, laboratory based investigation in which antibiotic resistance data from laboratories with computerized reporting is collected. The difficulties of this type of investigation are discussed and some solutions suggested. In the second investigation reports of the isolation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were collected from microbiological laboratories on a nation-wide basis. The results were useful in monitoring the spread of the organism and in its control.

Cross Infection↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Do nurses provide adequate postoperative pain relief?

The inadequate educational background of nurses fails to prepare them to assess and control postoperative pain effectively. Ineffective pain control occurs because of the confusion over the complex nature of pain, a reluctance to accept patients' verbal reports of pain, ignorance of the relationship of pain to tissue damage, and the lack of a coherent framework for assessing pain. Nurses need improved formal training in methods of pain control at all educational levels. Nurses must recognize their own knowledge limitations and seek to improve their awareness of current research and improvements in pain control so that these can be implemented in clinical practice.

Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Audit of postoperative pain following day case surgery.

Day case surgery is an expanding area within the NHS. However, pain following day case procedures remains a constant concern for healthcare professionals. An audit of postoperative pain following a range of day case procedures over a 2-year period at a general hospital in the north of England found that 17-20% of patients experienced unacceptable levels of pain. However, very few of these patients were worried about the pain they experienced and none contacted their GP. This implies that healthcare professionals overestimate the significance of postoperative pain for the patients concerned.

Ambulatory Surgical Procedures↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Assessment and learning in post-registration nurse education.

Assessment in nurse education concentrates too much on academic abilities and fails to measure the practical nursing abilities of students. This article argues for a change in emphasis, so that assessment is seen as a part of learning, rather than a series of arbitrary hurdles to be negotiated.

Education, Nursing, Continuing↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of field capture on the measurement of cellular immune responses in wild ferrets (Mustela furo), vectors of bovine tuberculosis in New Zealand.

Ferrets are recognised as significant wildlife vectors of bovine tuberculosis (Tb) in New Zealand. Disease management strategies, such as the development of a protective wildlife vaccine, could be assisted by the ability to measure pertinent cellular immune responses among wild animals. In the present study, we investigated whether it is possible to measure in vitro lymphocyte reactivity in wild-caught ferrets, and also determined levels of physiological stress in these animals, and we compared these responses to those observed in laboratory-maintained domesticated ferrets. Over a 12-month period, 80 ferrets were live-captured from a Tb-endemic region (Otago, southern New Zealand); cardiac blood was withdrawn on-site, and mononuclear cell cultures were successfully established from 75 of these animals. Lymphocyte transformation (LT) responses to T cell and T/B cell mitogens (Concanavalin A [Con A] and pokeweed mitogen) were measured via uridine incorporation assay. The magnitude of these responses did not differ significantly between animals that had been captured in wire-framed cage traps and those captured using soft-jawed leg-hold traps. Levels of serum cortisol and glucose (as indicators of physiological and oxidative stress, respectively) were highest in animals captured using leg-hold traps. In comparison to domesticated ferrets, wild-caught ferrets had lower overall LT responses to Con A, but significantly higher levels of serum cortisol. Finally, 10/80 animals captured from the wild were severely diseased (Tb+), as evidenced by gross tuberculous lesions at autopsy. Successful mononuclear cell cultures were established from nine of these animals; LT responses to Con A were significantly lower in Tb+ ferrets than in either wild-caught/non-diseased (Tb-) or domesticated ferrets. These results demonstrate that it is possible to measure cellular immune responses from the blood of wild-caught ferrets, but that field capture and disease status may have detrimental effects on in vitro T cell function, possibly due to the influence of physiological stress.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Non-reporting of cardiac pain.

A study of 55 patients over a three-month period who were admitted to the coronary care unit of a large university teaching hospital indicated that, despite the well-documented importance of recognising and treating cardiac chest pain, of the 80% of patients who experienced pain or discomfort, 19% delayed in reporting 'chest pain' for more than 20 minutes and 4% failed to report their 'chest pain' at all. Non-reporting of symptoms was felt to be caused by lack of nursing and medical awareness that this problem existed, lack of patient awareness of the need to report all symptoms and difficulties in communication between nursing staff and patients.

Chest Pain↗